Contents

Same-Actor Crossover is a crossover that features two characters who are played by the same actor. A story where characters played by different actors supposed to be one and the same are not same-actor crossovers, but same-actor fusions.

If the story is gen, the characters may meet because they are related; for instance, a story where two characters are cousins, long-lost siblings, or even twins. If the fanfic features a pairing, it may pair up two characters played by the same actor. This is sometimes called doppelganger fic or doppelganger porn, although doppleganger fic does not always involve a crossover.[1]

The Appeal

In some cases, the two characters from different shows are written as the same person, just under different names and sometimes in different time periods. In Queen of Swords, a show set in 19th century California, two of the supporting cast were played by the same actors who played Methos and Kronos in Highlander (Peter Wingfield as Dr. Helm and Valentine Pelka as Col. Montoya). One of Methos' common past professions in canon and fanon was medical doctor, and several stories were written where Dr. Helm was one of Methos past personae. Montoya was often written as Kronos for a reprise of one of the secondary Highlander slash pairings. The fact that Highlander canon had Duncan MacLeod in America at the same time helped seal this crossover's popularity.

In Once a Thief the character of Victor Mansfield was played by the same actor who played Alex Krycek on The X-Files. The OaT character was a secret government agent who used to be a cop before he was arrested and spent time in prison and Krycek started out as an FBI agent who is later revealed as a double agent. Krycek disappears for longer periods of time just to suddenly resurface for a few episodes and in same-actor crossovers one explanation for this is his Vic Mansfield identity. If they are not written as the same person, Vic is usually a Krycek clone. In Highlander the character of Cory Raines was also played by Nick Lea, the Krycek actor. Cory was a Robin Hood-like character who stole from the rich to gave it to the poor and that fit well with one fannish interpretation of Krycek. That's why they are sometimes written as the same person too.

Mulder in the Middle cover by The Theban Band. It shows Mulder, Krycek, seven Krycek clones (characters the actor played on other shows and one OMC), and Mac Ramsey, the other half of the Vic/Mac pairing from Once a Thief.

Mulder in the Middle by Orithain: X-Files crossover series where Mulder gets to meet (and sleep with) several different characters that were all played by Nicholas Lea, the actor who played Krycek on The X-Files. There is also a casefile that explains it all: The characters from The X-Files (both of them), Once a Thief, Xtro II, Moloney, Lonesome Dove, and Sliders are all Krycek clones. In the end the pairing included nine people, seven of them played by the same actor (the eighth was an OMC Krycek!clone).

In the zine A Week in L.A., Dirty Harry Callahan leaves his lover, Johnny, in San Francisco to take a case in Los Angeles. He is shocked when he meets Hutch. "After twenty years on the force, he thought he was immune to surprises, but he was wrong. He stared at Ken Hutchinson in amazement. The face, coloring, eyes, even the height and build. Johnny. The man looked exactly like Johnny." Both men, of course, are played by David Soul.

The Lily-White Boys by L.R. Bowen: Tom Paris of Star Trek Voyager meets and sleeps with Nick Locarno from Star Trek TNG--maybe. The story plays with the fact that not only are both roles played by Robert Duncan McNeill, but the character of Paris was based on that of Locarno.

Split OTPs

A common variation of the Same Actor Crossover takes one half of a popular OTP and pairs them off-- not with their usual partner, but with someone who looks almost identical to that partner. These types of stories are extremely common in 6 Degrees of Canada and Stargate Atlantis (Hewligan), among others.

Art Examples

John Book and Han Solo and Indiana Jones, by Zawiah

References

↑See for instance A Perfect Mirror by Gin/backinblack, a Dark Angel story which pairs off two characters played by Jensen Ackles who are, canonically, clones, thus achieving doppleganger porn without a crossover.)